DEFIANT MANAGERS KEEP POT CAFE OPEN

Representatives For Da Kine Say If Police Raid The Business Again,
They Will Reopen It Again

Management of the Da Kine cafe vowed Friday to continue selling
marijuana, despite a police raid the day before that resulted in the
arrest of its owner and seven employees.

The open defiance at the cafe, which police say does an estimated
$30,000 worth of business a day, is also against the advice of owner
Carol Gwilt's lawyer.

After spending a night in jail, Gwilt and seven employees were
released from custody late Friday afternoon after provincial court
Judge William Kitchen remarked that it was "silly" for them to remain
in jail.

The arrests were made after Vancouver police seized 20 pounds of
marijuana, a pound of hashish and $63,000 in cash in Thursday night's
raid on Da Kine, which senior police officials characterized as a
significant drug house.

Investigators counted more than 230 visitors to the business within an
hour and a half during their surveillance, said Insp. Dave Nelmes,
head of the Vancouver police drug section.

As customers streamed through the Commercial Drive cafe Friday,
business was brisk, and several customers smoked their joints out on
the sidewalk, cheering loudly as a representative of the business,
Lorne McLeod, faced reporters outside the cafe and vowed it would
remain in business.

"They've done their raid, here we are again. And if they raid us
again, we'll open again," McLeod said.

"If someone wants to smoke a joint and it helps them, or it's their
prerogative, more power to them and we will be here to supply it," he
said to shouts of approval from about 40 supporters, some who were
video-taping friends, and themselves, smoking pot. Tourists in
backpacks and cameras were also drawn to the scene and appeared
bemused on hearing of the cafe's predicament. Three teenage girls also
carried crudely drawn posters on their clothes calling for Da Kine to
remain open.

McLeod lashed out at the police department, likening their actions to
"terrorist tactics," saying their arrival in squad teams and "full
battle dress" was what one would see in an American movie.

"[They were] acting as if we were gangsters or some threat. We are no
threat, we are members of the community, we are taxpayers, we are
citizens and we are tired of the terrorist tactics of the police," he
said.

McLeod said business licence documents submitted in January 2004
indicated the cafe would be selling pot and police were fully aware of
that.

"We are a non-profit society, the Canadian Sanctuary Society,
incorporated in 2001. What we want to do is provide to the community a
safe, secure environment where they can purchase a product of their
choice, where they can utilize that product without having to worry
about gangsters or street criminals."

In the past week, Da Kine staff received more than 7,000 applications
from people seeking to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, he said.

"We are not drug dealers, we are community activists," he said, adding
the laws relating to the use and sale of marijuana were based on
"falsehoods." The state, he said, should not be allowed to "tell me
what my indulgences should be."

McLeod said he sees no harm in the drug and claimed even local
businesses are in favour of the cafe's presence in the area and its
contribution in bringing a "new ambiance to the community." He said Da
Kine, is a non-profit operation and the proceeds of marijuana sales
went to paying taxes, salaries and rent. But he denied the cafe had
takings of $30,000 a day, as police claimed.

McLeod also said Da Kine is considering civil action for damages
against the Vancouver police department because of the raid. "They
tore [the premises] apart."

Tim Felger, a Marijuana Party candidate, criticized Solicitor-General
Rich Coleman for saying the open sale of drugs at Da Kine was
unacceptable.

Down the road from Da Kine, another store alleged to have been
peddling marijuana and related products, The Spirit Within, was closed.

A woman who lives in an apartment block above The Spirit Within, who
did not want to give her name, said the store manager was warned
Thursday night by the landlord not to participate in any illegal activities.

Meanwhile, police said some of the 33 customers in Da Kine when raided
it were 18 years old and younger.

Nelmes said an Aug. 26 tip to the Crime Stoppers line alerted police
that Da Kine was selling pot, several days before cafe owner Carol
Gwilt went public about selling marijuana and pleaded that the
four-month-old business be allowed to stay open.

"This was not a small, insignificant [compassion] club," said acting
Deputy Chief Bob Rolls. "This was a drug house and a very significant
operation."

He said Da Kine's "flaunting their criminal activity and demonstrating
their contempt for the laws of Canada" elevated it as a priority for
police.

Dozens of officers, some wearing balaclavas, descended on Da Kine at
5:40 p.m. Thursday to serve a search warrant on the cafe.

Police cordoned off a block of Commercial Drive during the raid. Rolls
said the size of the force was unusually large for executing a drug
search warrant but investigators based it on their expectation that
there would be a crowd of 200 to 300 people on hand, which there was.

"We had enough [officers] there to discourage activities or
confrontations," he added.

Nelmes said there were 41 people in the cafe when police entered and
33 were identified as customers. No customers were arrested, but they
were all questioned and Nelmes said they were all asked whether they
had Health Canada authorization to possess marijuana for medicinal
purposes. None produced any such authorization, he said.

Rolls said there is a "strong likelihood" money from sales at Da Kine
could have been filtered back to support organized crime, a claim
denied Friday by McLeod.

Gwilt and the others were released from custody on condition they stay
away from marijuana or any premises, automobile, or person where
marijuana is present. The six females and two males are scheduled to
appear again in Vancouver provincial court Oct. 6 on charges of
possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. That's the same
date as a scheduled hearing at city hall on the future of Da Kine's
business licence.

Gwilt was also charged with possessing proceeds from a crime.

Kitchen rejected Crown prosecutor Mark Sheardown's request to bar the
suspects from meeting each other or returning to the 1000-block of
Commercial Drive, where Da Kine continued to sell marijuana over the
counter a day after the police raid.

But Kitchen warned them they could go to jail if they offend again.

"Next time, I'll hold you in jail," he said. "It seems pretty silly to
be held in jail these days for possession of marijuana."

Outside the court, Gwilt's lawyer, John Conroy, warned Da Kine not to
continue selling pot. "I would hope anyone else involved with Da Kine
would see the consequences if they continue. They're just asking for
further problems from police. My advice [to Gwilt], under the
circumstances, is that she shouldn't allow that."

He predicted the court case could take a year.